Yep... If the marks had all lined up I might have used them, but I'm going to pull the cam cover off and use the locking tool when I get back to it tonight, and then we'll see where it's at. If there's minimal clearance, then I guess if it was really 3 teeth out I'd know about it by now! I can see why people use paint marks. It's nice and visible and you can see it all from the same end of the engine - saves diving over the back to check the flywheel and make sure the cam lock hasn't fallen out. It does help if they're in the right place though I changed the fuel filter last night, and I think it revs a bit cleaner as a result, but still judders at idle. I didn't really test it much - I wanted to get on with the cambelt. No fault codes on the last scan, but that was before I changed the 3rd injector...
Update - it's back together and running - some other interesting stuff I found along the way... I found that the Laser cam lock tool wasn't a very good fit, and assumed that this was probably close enough. However, a quick call to Herr Doktor Danster advised me that the thing to do is ship the cam tool up with feeler gauges (same thickness on each side), so that it's nice and tight, and level against the top of the head. This means that the cam is properly level and in the right place. Potentially this means you might have to take the cam pulley off and adjust it, to get it all in the right place, but I was lucky and didn't have to. The pump locking pin and the TDC mark on the flywheel were nicely centred, so no need. Another top tip I received was "make sure you take the locking pin out before you start the car, or you'll snap the belt". Good advice, and fairly obvious really, but it's easy to forget when you're trying to finish a job late at night and get home to bed. What I did to make sure I didn't forget, was to put the ignition key in the box for the cam locking tools, and leave that sat on the dash, so I had a reminder about the locking pin before I got the key and could start the car. Next up: If I get a chance at lunchtime, I'm going to try and check the pump timing in VAGCOM. I'll take the car for a run to warm it up (need to fill up with diesel anyway) and see what I find.
I took it out for a run and tested the timing... it says it's in spec but advanced. With my very limited knowledge I'm thinking that's the best sort of setting to maximise power from the engine, at the expense of maybe a little smoke. I haven't noticed any clouds of reek out of the back under power though - seems to run quite cleanly. Here's a really bad pic of the screen - the 'verdict' part is down the bottom. It started by saying it wasn't hot enough, so I though I'd give it a rev to warm it up. Immediately the message pops up at the bottom "Leave the throttle pedal alone". It's like being back in school A quick 'How To' on this - there are better guides on the net if you search, but the basics are: - Open up the VAGCOM software, and connect the cable. - Select 'Engine' so that it communicates with the car and reads the ECU ID - I checked fault codes while I was in there, but you don't have to - makes sense to set the timing with no other fault codes though - Turn off all accessories in the car. - Select 'Measuring Blocks' click the 'Go' next to block 000 - An option at the bottom right of the window appears - TDI Timing (I can't 100% remember whether you need to select 'Basic Settings' first - When you select TDI timing, the graph below should appear, and look for the instructions at the bottom for the screen. The yellow lines move around as the car runs, and give you a visible reading of where the timing is. I couldn't figure out how to adjust it from within the software though.
You can't adjust timing with the software, adjusting the timing involves twisting the pump. But I would leave yours where it is.
I thought you could, or is it that the later cars self adjust when they're within range? I've been reading around on the net, not always understanding the context of what I'm reading, or the differences between models. Thanks for the feedback on the timing Mike. I'll leave it alone if you think it's about right. My remaining minor concern is that the engine is a bit lumpy on tick over, which I was hoping would be resolved by either the change of 3rd injector, or the cambelt / timing check. I also found a split breather hose. I've taped that up, but it's made no difference to the lumpy idle. As it stands now, the car is perfectly driveable, and pulls well. I'm showing no fault codes, so overall I'm happy. It's had new air, oil and fuel filters in the last couple of weeks as well, so they're not the cause of a lumpy idle. Any other suggestions for smoother idle? The seller was told that the pump was on the way out, but that was by someone who didn't scan for fault codes.
Fair point, especially after 150k miles, and I'd be surprised if the manifold has been off. I'm planning to fit an EGR blank at some point, so it would be logical to do a strip and clean up at the same time. I wasn't thinking that it would make much difference at idle though - more of a full throttle max airflow thing. You never know though!
